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Combined Oral Contraceptive Pill (COCP): Side Effects, Risks & more
Combined Oral Contraceptive Pill (COCP) or colloquially called “the pill” is a popular method of birth control. It is an oral contraceptive and consists of a blend of an oestrogen and a progestogen. When consumed properly, it can effectively prevent pregnancy. However, it offers no protection from STI (Sexually Transmitted Infections).
The pill is required to be taken every day at a definite time. Women who use the pill can control their ovulation cycle. Furthermore, you can discontinue its use whenever you may want. Also, the combined pill can be used safely by most women. Only in a few cases, women with certain medical conditions may not be able to use this pill. However, it can be acquired only by prescription.
What is a Combined Oral Contraceptive Pill?
Combined Oral Contraceptive Pill is a birth control pill which is taken orally to prevent pregnancy. 'The Pill' includes low doses of two synthetic hormones which are quite similar to the female hormones-oestrogen and progestogen that are naturally produced in a woman’s body and are responsible for regulating ovulation; a process when ovaries release eggs.
Different kinds of birth control pills are available in the market. They may differ from each other in respect to the kind and dosage of the two hormones combined in the pill. It is advisable to choose the pill with the lowest dose of hormones. Some specific hormone combinations may be recommended to cure certain medical issues in women.
How does it Work?
The combined pill helps in averting pregnancy by:
preventing the eggs from being released by the ovaries
preventing the sperm from penetrating the uterus by thickening the mucus in the cervix
thinning the womb’s lining which prevents the fertilized egg from implanting itself into the womb
What about Effectiveness of the Pill?
The Pill is known to be almost 99% effective. So, this means if 100 women use The Pill in a given year, there is a chance that 1 of them may become pregnant. But the effectiveness of the combined pill may reduce if the product instructions are not followed correctly. The effectiveness may also get comprised if you happen to miss taking the pill. Thus, the real effective rate of the pill maybe around 91% because in real life one is likely to commit errors.
How to Take 'The Pill'?
It is desirable to take the pills every day at the same time. You can put a reminder on your phone or set a daily alarm to help you remember. The combined pill pack is usually available in a 21-day or 28-day pack. How to use combined oral contraceptive pills is explained below:
Having the Period
If you choose the 28-day pack, you will take a hormone pill every day for 21 days. The pack also contains 7 inactive reminder pills called the placebos. These pills have no active ingredients and are there simply to keep you on track. After 21 days of taking the hormone pills, you will take these reminder pills. You are likely to get your periods while taking these reminder pills. So to put it simply you don’t take the hormone pills in the last week of your menstrual cycle during which you get your period.
2. No-Period Option
If you opt for the 21-day pack, you take the hormone pills every day for 21 days. On completion, you start a new 21-day packet. This way you continuously take the hormone pills without taking the inactive reminder pills and thus forgo your periods.
What if you Miss or Vomit the Pill?
If you miss The Pill, it can reduce its effectiveness in preventing pregnancy. In case you indulge in sexual intercourse without a male condom during this time, you may be required to take emergency contraception. It is important to take the emergency contraception within 24 hours of missing The Pill for it to be most effective.
You are at a higher risk of pregnancy if you happen to miss taking the pill on any day of your first week of taking the active hormone pills. If you happen to vomit the pill, the chances are that it may not have had the time to get completely absorbed into your bloodstream. It is better to take another pill immediately.
Can all Women Use COCP?
C0CP is usually considered a safe option by most women. However, it is sensible to consult your doctor before using COCP who may like to examine its suitability for you and discuss your plans for future pregnancy before prescribing it. Nevertheless, you may like to avoid using COCP in case you have the following conditions:
Diabetes
Medical history of Breast Cancer
Liver or gallbladder disease
Severe migraines
History of a heart problem or stroke
History of developing blood clots
Abnormal vaginal bleeding
If you are overweight and smoke
If you are already on some medication
What are the Advantages of Combined Contraceptive Pill?
Some of the advantages of the combined contraceptive pill can be:
Very effective method of birth control
Convenient and easy to use
You have an option of having lighter, shorter periods or no periods altogether
It is not a hindrance to sex
If you wish to become pregnant, simply stop using the pill
It may lower your risk of endometrial and ovarian cancer by almost 50%
Some combined pills may help in curing acne or pimples
It can help in reducing the signs of PMS (Premenstrual Syndrome)
What are the Disadvantages of the Combined Pill?
The combined pill may have the following disadvantages:
Remembering to take the pill consistently every day may not be easy
Some combined pills may be expensive
It may cause your blood pressure to rise
It offers no protection against sexually transmitted infections (STI)
It can initially lead to temporary side-effects like nausea, headaches, breast tenderness in some women
What are Risks of Taking the Combined Contraceptive Pill?
There are certain risks related to using the combined contraceptive pill. But these risks are usually slight. The benefits of using the pill may outweigh its risks in most cases.
Blood Clots: The oestrogen contained in the pill may become the reason for blood to clot more easily. In case a blood clot develops, it can lead to deep vein thrombosis (blood clot in veins) in the leg or pulmonary embolus (clot in the lung).
Cancer: Studies suggest that women who use the pill may be at a slightly higher risk of being diagnosed with cervical cancer, breast cancer and a rare type of liver cancer. However, more research needs to be done in this field to reach definite conclusions.
What are the Side Effects of Taking COCP?
Some of the side effects of taking COCP are listed below:
Mood swings
Nausea
Breast tenderness
Headaches
Spotting or breakthrough bleeding
Skin changes like the appearance of dark patches
Can you get Pregnant after you Stop Taking the Pill?
The Pill does not affect the natural fertility of a woman. So, a woman can easily get pregnant after she stops taking the pill. In case you become pregnant while on the pill and wish to continue with the pregnancy, your baby may not get exposed to any extra risk.
Can this Pill Protect you from STI (Sexually Transmission Infections)?
The Pill does not offer any protection from STI (sexually transmitted infections). It is best to use the male condom to safeguard yourself against sexually transmitted infections.
Where You can Get Combined Oral Contraceptive Pills?
Combined oral contraceptive pills are available at most drugstores, pharmacies, community clinics or health clinics.
Constant and regular use of the pill is important to guarantee its effectiveness. Missing or vomiting the pill, diarrhoea may reduce the effectiveness of the pill in preventing pregnancy. In short, it is a safe, convenient, effective and a non-invasive method of preventing unwanted pregnancies.
Also Read: Plan B Pill Read more
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Importance of Connecting with your Preschooler
As your baby grows from being an infant to a toddler; and then a preschooler, you will notice his surge for independence. Your young one may seem to be steadily stepping out, and exploring ways to be independent in doing certain tasks, be it brushing teeth, putting on clothes, feeding him/her self. Apart from you getting a time-off, it is enjoyable to see those little hands and feet at work.
With this independence, it’s very important that we connect with our kids physically, emotionally and socially, and explain to them at each step what is right and what is wrong. Children at this age can show extreme emotions.
For example, if a friend is annoyed, either s/he will shout, cry or get angry and may throw things. It’s important at this stage to explain to the child how they should handle such emotions, and develop better social skills. Remember that the basics taught at the right time will play a huge role in your child’s life later on.
Developing Self-esteem and a Positive Outlook:
A positive self-image helps an individual to understand the reason behind a failure, and accept it without undergoing any emotional extremes. Though it is not right to expect a balanced outlook towards life at the age of 3 and 4, you can definitely contribute in developing your child’s behaviour a little at a time. Given below are some pointers you can follow:
Explain your child about his relations with relatives, what s/he is to his cousins, grandparents etc. This will make him feel a part of the family circle.
Encourage your child to take independent decisions (be it small) for example, what clothes s/he wants to wear or what a child would want to have in a restaurant.
Ask them to preserve their kindergarten pictures or drawings in a folder and keep them in their cupboard.
Give them a space in their room wherein they can keep their little stuff, it can be a paper, a chocolate or just a stick which they found in the park.
Appreciate your child when s/he does well and encourage for achieving more.
Saying ‘Thank you’ and ‘Sorry’ can go a long way in teaching children the essence of using such words.
Hug them, pat them, listen to them and play with them.
Do not scream at their mistakes, but help them realize its ok but they need to correct their mistakes and try not to repeat them in future.
Tell them stories about the scenario they are facing and what can be possible outcomes of the same.
In case, they tried doing something but could not accomplish the task, try to help them and explain them how the task can be accomplished.
Encourage them to play more team games rather than individual games.
If your child and his/her friends are fighting, intervene and encourage them to work out a solution for their problem and once the solution is agreed, appreciate all of them for solving the issue in a nice manner.
Developing Social Skills
Social development is a very important part of a child’s growth. For developing good relations with people from different age groups, it is important that a child should learn certain basic social skills:
Teach your child the importance of sharing, taking turns, helping others.
Make them learn the importance of speaking, as well as listening. Tell them how to use the right words and language to convey something to their friends, parents, relatives etc.
Co-operating with friends, and supporting them.
In 90% of the cases, children learn social skills by observing their parents when they are around people.
Pretend plays are a very good mode of teaching your child about social skills.
Encourage them to play games that involve winning and losing. Encourage their participation in group games and activities.
Connection parenting will help in bringing out your natural parenting ‘know-hows’. Your kid will listen and co-operate depending on how you behave with him/her. Here’s wishing you luck in connecting with your child. Read more
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Interacting with our children is the best investment we can make...
I have often heard people talk about the difference in bringing up a boy vs a girl and one of the most discussed topic under that heading is how boys take longer to verbalise their emotions as opposed to girls. Well i am certainly not an expert on the subject but with an experience of a little over 2.5 years, i feel that its time we take responsibility for our actions and stop playing the gender game. Whether its a boy or a girl, a child is a true reflection of you, nothing more, nothing less.
We all have different ways of showering love and affection on our kids and the beauty of the process is that the tiny infant understands you and even responds, such is the power of nature. What we sometimes miss in this high speed life though, is to constantly communicate with the child. Now, communication is perceived differently by different parents, buying a new toy each week doesnt qualify, neither does your quiet presence in the room, nor does the ubiquitous presence of your nanny, nor does Alexa playing nursery rhymes and neither does any gadget running obscure videos. None of these can replace a one on one communication that you ought to have with your child. A lot of people are of the opinion that they can communicate with an infant when he grows up to be a toddler because thats when he would comprehend; but truth is that they understand every form of communication, even during infancy. Its for the parents to know how to communicate with them.
Since i was busy moving cities when my daughter was born, i had to quit my job and become a full time mommy. Before i could even get into the whole settling mode, the deadly pandemic engulfed the world just like that. All these circumstances nudged me even closer to my daughter and being the talkative person in the family, i began to converse with her much more than i would have. Seldom did i leave my daughter in the company of toys for her to figure out what to do with them just like i rarely left her for any lone screen time. As a mother i was fearful but watchful of what she was doing or watching and participated with her in all the small activities teaching her a thing or two along the way. So basically engaging and communicating with my child is how my time was predominantly spent during the lockdown. In the hindsight, i realised that every minute spent narrating some imaginary story to her or introducing her to the world of pictures or at times indulging in some flashback moments with her, helped nurture her thought process, her vocabulary, her communication and more importantly, her comprehension skills. For me what was most satisfactory to see, was the need to interact that i had unknowingly developed in her. It feels so great when you see your child attempting to learn and do new things and the feeling is only heightened when they vocalise their thoughts and queries at a very young age.
The latest trend being marketed to us as new parents is, how to interact and engage with our child, completely disregarding the importance of a little bit of common sense and loads of motherly instinct. You dont need any modern world technique to engage with or entertain your child, just like you dont need a sixth sense to develop a habit of eating nutritional food, what you eat with them, in front of them, stock up at home is what a child will eat himself or herself without fuss. You may have to crank up the spices as per individual tastes but the ingredients are loaded with nutrients.
Advantages of interacting and communicating early on with your kid.
Communication comes handy when you are struggling to feed your child. Solution, make the eating time fun by telling them stories or showing pictorial books or maybe playing an indoor sport or doing a puzzle together. Trust me there are million ways of engaging your child and making him/ her eat without a screen.
Interaction from an early age assists in a two way communication which makes learning fun and develops at a much faster pace. Once you have built the foundation of a better understanding between you and the child, it becomes a lot easier to not just train them in basic etiquettes but also teaching them the other pre-requisites of human life.
The third most crucial aspect of early communication is that once the child has unfolded the power of communication, the parent gets a better understanding of their child’s need which in turn lowers the chances of the child throwing tantrums for no reason. we must understand that it is the lack of expression and communication that leads an innocent child to throw tantrums; its an inherent tool embedded in each child to showcase when he/ she is not understood.
Once the child learns to communicate, you begin to enjoy verbal reactions thereby strengthening your bond further with your child.
The simple joy of watching your child interact in their innocence is beyond description.
I am a firm believer of the fact that every parenthood journey is unique and very personal and not being judgemental about it is the basic courtesy that we as adults can extend. The opinions expressed are purely based on my learnings looking after my toddler. I like to believe that kids can be the best teachers and in their companionship, adults can learn and unlearn an incredible amount of life altering qualities and making any generalised assumption bases gender is a bit weird. Whether you have been blessed with a prince or a princess, when they will walk, talk, what they will eat, drink, all depends on parents, so never underestimate the power of being a parent.
Happy Parenting!! Read more
Swati Kar Samanta has added a new answer
Expecting Mom due in 7 months
17 hours ago
Q. why I am getting dizziness in my pregnancy
I am going with 3rd month of my pregnancy it's a very strong dizziness I feel at times means every day .....no other symptoms of pregnancy .Please help with elaboration .All okay means isn't part of this journey.
Read moreSwati Kar Samanta
Mom of a 2 m old girl
7 hours ago
A. Do consult your doctor as soon as you can. It's important to find the real reason because without that, proper medication is not possible.
Dr Priyanka Kalra has added a new answer
Guardian of 0 children
17 hours ago
Q. I am currently 32 week pregnant and had growth scan recently.My baby is in cephalic presentation.does this change after 36 week or does this remain the same?
Dr Priyanka Kalra
Obstetrician and Gynaecologist
9 hours ago
A. usually fixed. better to show to specialist always as they get the correct diagnosis. try to avoid self and extra medication that will only complicate this and create more damage to the child
Rashmi has added a new answer
Guardian of 0 children
7 hours ago
Q. it's my 5 month n I still didn't went for check up yet not even once is it okay if I go now or?
Rashmi
Mom of a 9 yr 7 m old girl
7 hours ago
A. You should have started going from the very beginning itself once you get to know you’re pregnant but since you haven’t reached that now if you’re pregnancy has been healthy last five months please get it checked with your doctor also if you need to start with any supplements or diet the doctor would advise you after a ultrasound so please visit your gynaecologist
Dr Ghouse has added a new answer
Guardian of 0 children
4 hours ago
Q. size chart is not correct for age of the baby
Dr Ghouse
Paediatrician
3 hours ago
A. generally it is available from Indian academy growth chart download from Google. if there is no relief it is better you see your doctor for proper examination particularly physical examination if there is need for doing investigations to find out the problem and treatment ok
Nikitha has added a new answer
Guardian of 0 children
3 hours ago
Q. Mera 8 month start hu white distance hora mere ko
Nikitha
Mom of a 9 yr 5 m old boy
3 hours ago
A. hello since u are a expecting mom this would require a proper medical attention and it is better to check with your doctor and your doctor will be able to guide you better on examination of the same and advise you accordingly
Akifa Tahreem has added a new answer
Expecting Mom due in 7 months
2 hours ago
Q. hello doctor, I'm 3 weeks pregnant. can we sleep on our belly or which side We can sleep on during pregnancy...
Akifa Tahreem
Mom of a 7 m old boy
53 mins ago
A. no you can't sleep in your tummy
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